Dragon Soul
by Twilight Warrior 627
Summary: Liu Kang and his allies are all that's left to stand against the Outworld emperor as he prepares to conquer their world. But what pushes this desire for power? What is fueling this millennia long conflict? As he learns to overcome his own darkness, Liu Kang learns just how far reaching the battle between light and darkness goes and just what lies beyond.


Author's note: I know. I know...here we go again. But so many ideas keep popping into my head. And given the reception of the latest game, it's quite literally the weirdest plot they've come up with and not in a good way. This will include certain characters but it will feature one that I thought was interesting. And with a certain line in an intro dialogue, I thought it warranted some exploration. Enjoy this brief preview.

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Inside the cathedral, the warriors brought together in defense of Earthrealm discussed Shao Kahn's invasion. For Liu Kang, it was a testament that even with every victory that could be claimed, the future that Raiden supposedly foresaw seemed to be drawing closer. However, he wanted to believe that there could be another way out, the Mortal Kombat champion felt that an inevitable reckoning was coming.

'You cannot trust the thunder god. He will lead you to ruin,' came a voice that echoed in his mind. Liu Kang narrowed his eyes as he knew that those thoughts were not his own. However, he was immediately brought back to the present.

"I must seek counsel from the Elder Gods. Liu Kang and I will return short-"

"I believe it best that I remain here," Liu Kang shot back. The Earthrealmers who know the White Lotus member knew that he was not normally this incensed but they felt something was wrong. Raiden was taken aback by his ally's response his statement. As he looked at his warrior's face, he knew that there was a determination there.

"Very well Liu Kang. May the Elder Gods watch over you," Raiden said as he called his lightning to send him to the world of the higher beings. With his departure, the remaining warriors were left to contemplate their next step in protecting their world.

Stryker looked around and broke the silence. "So what do we do now, besides just standing around?"

"Wait!" Sub Zero said. Liu Kang was still surprised at how far technology could go in the wrong hands. After Sub-Zero's warning, there were other cyborgs all of similar design invading the cathedral. Liu Kang noticed that Cyrax and Sektor, now cyborgs themselves, led the charge. As Nightwolf battled Cyrax, Liu Kang moved towards Sektor.

"You will not live to see this day, Shaolin," Sektor said.

"You will taste defeat Sektor!" the monk said. The two combatants moved in and began exchanging blows before Liu Kang delivered a roundhouse kick that caused Sektor to stumble. The cyber assassin stretched out his arm preparing to shoot fire. However, Liu Kang felt power surge within him as he did not want to fail in protecting his friends. The shaolin warrior thrust his hands out and blue flames ejected from his hands. Sektor was unprepared as the power behind Liu Kang's fire was immense. COmbined with his own fire, Sektor was unprepared for the explosion that left him crippled. As the monk looked around, he saw that his friends had defeated the other cyborgs while Cyrax seemed relatively intact.

He watched as Sub-Zero opened a panel on his friend and began typing as if to access something. This gave everyone else reprieve from everything that happened. Liu Kang walked over and questioned to the cryomancer, "Can your friend be saved?"

"It's possible. The one benefit to being these enhancements is access to the technology used in both of us. When this is over, Sektor will pay."

Liu Kang began to wonder how much longer they could survive but put the thought out of his mind. Before long, Cyrax had woken up. "Kuai Liang?"

"Yes Cyrax. You've been restored as I have."

"It feels wonderful to have my humanity to again...more or less."

"Uh guys, hate to cut this reunion short but I think we have company. Or am I the only one who hears the screaming?" Johnny Cage said as he began looking around. Kitana approached the Shaolin and Lin Kuei warriors with a look of concentration. Nightwolf walked over and asked, "What is it?"

"Mother," the Outworld princess said as she looked at the cathedral entrance. Everyone looked up as they saw a woman with white hair with a black streak dressed in a purple combat outfit, screaming at an inhumanely high pitch. Sub-Zero created an ice wall, Jade (Kitana's best friend) stuck her bo stuff intot he floor and held on, Johnny held on to Jackson 'Jax' Briggs' robotic arms. while everyone else were left defenseless, the only two unaffected were Liu Kang and Nightwolf.

"Come Earthrealm warriors! I will finish what the Lin Kuei could not!" Sindel said.

"Attack!" Nightwolf proclaimed. Liu Kang immediately shot fireballs, which Sindel had dodged with little effort. Johnny went in for a straight kick only to be punched especially hard in the face. Smoke teleported behind the newly resurrected queen of Edenia and grabbed her only for her to lean her head forward and quickly rear it back. As Smoke recoiled in pain, Sindel grabbed his head and swiftly twisted his neck, ending the life of Tomas Vrbada.

"No!" Sub-Zero went to freeze the killer of his friend only to be knocked back by her sonic blast. Sonya went in to attack but Sindel delivered a simple high kick and took the soldier out of commission. Jax followed up only for both of his arms to be caught, and Sindel's heel to be caught in his throat. The major's life was snuffed out before anyone could do anything. Kabal sped around Sindel hoping that she would be caught off guard but simply screamed and he was thrown off his feet. Sindel jumped into the air and stomped Kabal hard enough to destory his interal organs, killing the former criminal.

Nightwolf prepared an incantation and charged magic into his palms, and then he shot lightning at Sindel. Everyone looked on surprised to find that Sindel was stronger than they could've expected. Liu Kang fired his blue flames along with Nightwolf, causing even more damage to Sindel than anyone would survive. As the two combined their powers, Kitana saw a shade leaving her mother's body.

"Shang Tsung?!" Everyone who heard looked on and realized she was right. Liu Kang stopped his attack with Nightwolf stopping a second after. "Shang Tsung's soul is inside my mother! How is this possible?"

Nightwolf looked their enemy and realized that there was one thing he could do. He prepared a different incantation and approached Sindel. The queen looked up and grabbed Nightwolf with her hair. The Matokan shaman continued his spell and became engulfed with his power. As energy crackled all around the remaining combatants, they saw that Shang Tsung had been expelled, yet Nightwolf lay near death and Sindel was catching her breath.

Raiden teleported in to find that battle and carnage had taken place. "By the Elder Gods..."

Liu Kang looked at Raiden, with a displeased expression. "Smoke, Jax, and Kabal have fallen, Raiden."

"No," Raiden said as he bowed his head.

Liu Kang's expression softened. "I'm afraid so. The Lin Kuei attacked but we routed their advance. But then Sindel followed them...with Shang Tsung's power."

"Shang Tsung?" the thunder god asked. The Shaolin warrior explained how Shang Tsung's spirit may have inhabited Sindel. Kitana then informed the others of how Sindel was dead merely hours earlier. Raiden realized that Shao Kahn's sorcery was much more treacherous than he initially believed. He looked over to find Nightwolf injured and immediately went to heal him. When he was done, he checked on Jax, Smoke, and Kabal but found that he could not bring them back from death.

"What do we do now?" Liu Kang asked.

Raiden's expression turned sour. "There's something I must do. I climbed the highest mountain. Now I must plunge to the lowest depths. I will question Quan Chi."

"Why that sorcerer?" Sub-Zero threw in. Raiden looked at his allies. "Because I fear he has a bigger hand in this conflict than we believe."

With that Raiden teleported away while Liu Kang and the others prepared to move the bodies of their dead friends. Kitana went to check on their mother with Jade assisting them. Liu Kang looked on, feeling even more useless than after he defeated the Outworld emperor at the second tournament. As his anger grew, he felt his power shifting even more. He ignored it for the time being and went to help his friends.

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Author's note: So yeah, I changed some things about the MK9 story. I gonestly don't blame other fans for the fact that half of the good guys died. It seemed like an experiment that should have been very short-lived. And given the way MK11 went...well, I ahve a decent idea in mind for where this will go. Stay tuned.


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